City presents Two Bridges fl ood-protect plan
BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
The Mayor’s Offi ce of Recovery
& Resiliency recently presented
3-D models of fl ip-up barriers
and fl ood walls proposed for the Two
Bridges area as a part of the Lower Manhattan
Coastal Resiliency project.
The 0.82-mile section of Two Bridges
is considered fully funded — with $203
million allocated for the project. The city
says it plans to prioritize the use of fl ipup
barriers, so that the esplanade will
remain usable, with views open for the
community.
The hands-on community meeting
was intended for O.R.R. to hear
feedback on the project, which aims to
protect the neighborhood from storm
surges after Hurricane Sandy fl ooded it
nearly six years ago. Since then, major
infrastructure improvements to protect
the city from future storms have largely
been done in a piecemeal approach, with
older buildings being retrofi tted and
new buildings installing mechanicals on
higher fl oors. However, construction of
protective infrastructure along the waterfront
has not yet begun.
After years of involvement, Trever Holland,
a member of Tenants United Fighting
for the Lower East Side (TUFF-LES)
and a Two Bridges Tower resident, said
the de Blasio administration has come a
long way regarding the design models.
“The city is listening to the wishes of
the residents,” Holland said. He added
that he hopes the project limits permanent
fl ood walls and opts for more deployable
barriers and walls that fl ip up
during storms and otherwise remain
down 99 percent of the time.
“We still remain a little concerned
about what portion of it will have walls,”
he added.
As it stands, much of the nearly 1-mile
stretch will have fl ip-up barriers, except
for portions beneath the Brooklyn Bridge
and west of Pier 36, which sports a threeblock
long pier shed that runs north of
Jefferson St. The only visible part of the
fl ip-up barriers would be posts sticking
up from the esplanade — which would
be where roughly 10-foot-tall barriers
would be raised up before a storm.
The steel posts, explained Lauren
Micir, an associate at the engineering
fi rm AECOM, can be meshed with design
amenities, such as playgrounds,
exercise features and lounging space.
When lowered, the fl ip-up barriers lie
fl ush to the ground.
“We’ve been imagining, ‘What else
could these steel posts be?’” Micir said
at the Wed., July 18, presentation.
“We looked at every open space,
street, sidewalk, every possibility within
this neighborhood,” she added.
View corridors along Robert F. Wagner
Sr. Place, Catherine Slip, Market
Slip, Pike Slip and Rutgers Slip are where
additional fl ip-up barriers could be installed
to accommodate these access
Lauren Micir, of AECOM engineers, right, explained how the posts for
the flip-up barriers can be meshed with other design amenities.
points to the East River.
“The view here is pretty spectacular,”
Micir said. “We really want to preserve
that connection.”
Although much of the Two Bridges
stretch is expected to have fl ip-up barriers,
the city is proposing fl oodwalls in
sections beneath the Brooklyn Bridge
and the three-block stretch between Jefferson
and Montgomery Sts., where Pier
36 is, according to the latest conceptual
designs presented at the Two Bridges
community meeting.
At the Brooklyn Bridge, the walls
would block off much of a Department
of Transportation parking lot beneath
the bridge, leaving the sidewalk open for
use, according to a conceptual rendering.
For the northern part of the Two Bridges
area, the city is proposing a fl oodwall
running along the F.D.R. Drive to the
west of Pier 36 in place of fl ip-up barriers
for three reasons: Views are already
blocked by existing buildings; there is an
existing wall and fence; and the fl oodwall
is expected to have a lower required
height, according to the city.
The meeting included a free dinner,
and community members asked questions
about the 3-D models before returning
to the roundtables for further
discussion.
The roundtable discussions — during
which around 50 people discussed
their ideas and feedback with L.M.C.R.
staffers taking notes — largely focused
on possible programming that could be
added at Two Bridges.
In a neighborhood lacking the public
spaces and activity areas many believe it
PHOTO BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
needs, some expressed the desire for added
playground space, picnic tables, a dog
run, an ice-skating rink and a pool.
The expected infl ux of thousands of
new residents based on four proposed
Two Bridges towers, plus Extell Development’s
One Manhattan Square, which is
currently being completed, is expected to
spark the need for even more extensive,
quality public space on the esplanade.
But underlying questions remain, such
as who will maintain the walls and barriers
to protect New Yorkers generations
into the future? Another concern was
who would maintain added public spaces
funded under the Two Bridges project;
Jonathon Gardenhire, a Smith Houses
resident, suggested the city choose a nonprofi
t community partner to do it.
The workshop was the fourth in a series
with Two Bridges community members.
Designs remain conceptual, but the
city is aiming to build before the federal
deadline to spend the allocated cash expires.
“We’re not promising anything tonight,
but we’re trying to have a conversation
about what we want,” Jordan
Salinger, O.R.R. senior policy adviser for
planning, told the meeting.
“We know that Sandy was fi ve and
a half years ago,” he added, addressing
concerns that some feel they are no safer
now than in 2012. “Continuing talking
about that is the most important thing
for us.”
an evacuation
“ I have sure
plan. I will make does too.”
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